Boat propelled by manually-operated mechanism



BOAT PROPELLED BY MANUALLY OPERATED MECHANISM- Filed April 10, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet l ezzioz BOAT PROPELLED BY MANUALLY OPERATED MECHANISM Filed April 10. 1922 s Sheets-Sheet 2 HGZ.

I. R. FLEMING BOAT PROPELLED BY MANUALLY OPERATED MECHANISM Filed April 10, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Nov. 15, 1927.

IVAN RUPERT FLEMING,

0F AINSDALE, ENGLAND.

BOAT PROPELLED BY MANUALLY-OPERATED MECHANISM.

Application filed April 10, 1922 Serial No. 551,392, and in Great Britain September 9, 1921.

This invention has reference more particularly to ships life boats, and to that type of boat having manually operated propelling mechanism in which longitudinal shafts or rods inside the boat, are reciprocated to and fro through a plurality of hand operated pivoted levers, and such reciprocating motion is converted into a rotary motion by a crank mechanism from which motion is trans mitted to the propeller; and the chief object and eifect is to provide means in connection with such mechanism or apparatus of this type by. which the power is efficiently and economically applied, and by a slow movement of the hand, and medium effort of the operators is sufficient to propel the boat at a satisfactory speed; and a further ob ect is to provide an arrangement and combination, which is generally advantageous and more suitable both for the operation by thepassengers in the life boat, and the coxswaln or man in charge of the boat.

- In the boat and mechanism hereinafter described, the improvements under this invention are comprised.

The longitudinal shafts or rods WhICh are located along the inside of each s1de of the boat, in the well which generally exists between partial decks above the buoyancy an: tanks or chambers usually employed in such boats, and the fulcra of the hand operated levers, which are arranged in line, are disposed ata pointbetween the gunwales, and the bottom of the boat, and more or less m line or nearly so with a transverse shaft carrying cranks or crank discs, to crank pins of which said rods are directly connected by driving connecting rods, from which shaft motion is transmitted to a propeller shaftand propeller at the stern of the boat.

in this manner, the eifort applied to the longitudinal shafts or rods is applied substantially directly in line with the driven crank shaft, and mechanical advantage and efiiciency is obtained. The fulcra pins or the like are carried on horizontal members attached to the uprights or supports of the boat which extend from the bottom to the inner'edges of the decks; and these members are detachable from the uprights, and lie over the covers which extend between the uprights, and enclose the inside surfaces of the buoyancy air vessels.

In connection with the mechanism, on the transverse shaft, means is employed for con- .section, Figure 2 a trolling the direction in which the shaft can be operated, and such mechanism may consist of pawls operating in connection with a ratchet wheel on the shaft on which the crank discs are fixed, so that one or other pawls may be put into position to engage the ratchet wheel so as to prevent it going in one or other direction, at will. When the pawls are reversed when the gear is being operated, the hand levers are prevented from moving in one direction, and by moving them in the opposite direction the motion is reversed. The cranks being set say 90 from one another, this reversal of motion takes place smoothly and easily.

The improvements, the nature of which 15 above described, are illustrated in the annexed drawings, and the invention will be further described with reference to them.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal lan, and Figure 3 is a cross section at AA. vided with the improvements.

Figure 4 is an elevation in cross section showing the reversing gear of the machinery.

The boat shown has along each side, a series of air tanks, which are enclosed within the boxes or casings 1, generally of wood; and the boat is provided with thwarts 2 at the level of the tops of the air tank casings 1, from which the operating levers are operated by persons sitting on these thwarts" while below these and between the vertical planes of same and the pivots of the hand operating levers, other thwarts 3 are arranged, and to serve as seats for passengers.

The top of the air tank casings 1 is considerably below the level of the gunwale of the boat, and partake of the sheer of the boat.

In this gear, there are three sets of vibrating operating levers 5, on each side of the boat, two of them near the stern, that is, between the stern thwart 2, and the second and, third thwarts, respectively; whilst the other is disposed between the fifth and sixth thwarts 2, there being none between the fourth and fifth; and the continuous coupling rods 6, which connect up all the levers 5, are nearly in line horizontally, with the axis of the crank shaft 7; and the after ends of these rods are connected directly to the crank discs 8 by connecting rods 9, so'that there is a direct drive in line substantially with the axis of the crank shaft.

The levers 5 are supported on pins 10 on igure 1, of a boat prowood 12, fastened by screws or bolts to the die 22 plates 11 bolted on to a continuous beam of mechanism, including the pawls 16, according to which of the two pawls is engaged vertical walls of the air tank casings 1. with the notched wheel 16*, so will the direc- The ends of the connecting rods 9 of the tion of rotation of the shafts, and the protwo sets of coupling rods 6 are connected to peller be controlled; and when the gear is opcrank pins on the crank discs 8 set at about erated, as the crank pins of the cranks 8 are 90, more or less, apart from one another set at a distance apart in the circle of their circularly; and this arrangement, combined rotation, say about 90 from one another, with the direction controlling mechanism of no matter which pawl is in the notch of the the machinery provides for the uninterruptwheel 16", the power applied to the levers ed operating of the lovers and gear, as hereinwill turn or revolve the shaft the required dift 1 d rection, without any special act or thought The gear by means of which the rotation of the operators; that is to say, they autoof the screw propeller is prevented from matically propel the vessel without skill or being rotated by the hand gear in the wrong -attention; and not only in starting off will direction, and can only be rotated in the dithe propeller be revolved in the right direcrection desired, consists of two oppositely artion by the gear, but when it is required to ranged pawls 16 mounted on a bracket 17, reverse its direction when running by actufixed to the floor of the boat, the upper ends ating the direction controlling pawl gear by .of which face one another, and operate 1n the navigator, the reversal of the pro ller connection with a notched wheel 16 on the shaft and propeller will take place, without shaft crank 7. The pawls are operated b a the operating people being inconvenienced or rockin lever 18 pivoted at 19 to the brac et 17, the ong arm of which has connected with it a horizontal rod 20 which projects through, and is supported upon a partition or bulkhead 21, and is provided with a handle 22 on the aft side of this bulkhead 21; and aft of this bulkhead 21 there is a cock pit 26 closed below above the gear, by the floor 24; and in this cockpit in the aft part of the boat the steersman and controller of the boat and mechanisms can stand.

A longitudinal seat extends between the stern of the boat, viz, the aft ends of the sideboards 25, and the first thwart 2; and on the right hand of the cockpit the operating banof the rod 20 is placed; and this rod has gaps 26 in it which in the two positions are placed over the upwardly projecting edge of the bulkhead plate 21, forming the lower edge of the hole in it through which the rod 20 passes. The rod is normally kept down in position and engaged by a sprin 27.

The shaft 7 is supported in earings 28 mounted on the foundation plate on the bot tom of the boat; and this shaft 7 revolves the propeller shaft 15 by a bevel wheel 29 on the shaft 7, and a smaller bevel pinion 30 on the shaft 15, so that the shaft 15 will be revolved at a greater speed than that of the shaft 7.

Outside the vertical walls of the air tank casin s 1, there is a projecting casing 32, and t e coupling rods 6 are disposed within these casings, and the lower ends of the levers 5 pass through slots in the roof of same, so that the whole of the reciprocating mechanism below the fulcra 10 of the levers 5 is enclosed, and the action of the machinery cannot be interfered with by (people or things in the well of the boat; an this casing 32 extends to the rear transverse bulk head 33 of the boat.

Regarding the operation of the whole along the sides of the air cases adapted to i put out.

In some cases when desired or suitable, the lever 5 and coupling rods 6 may be placed along or near the middle of the boat, or away from the sides, instead of as shown in the drawings.

When a reversing gear of the clutch or equivalent type of reversing mechanism is used on the propeller shaft, for reversing the propeller, a click or pawl stop or the l1ke may be used to prevent the primary shaft 7 from reversing, and so that it always must revolve in the same direction.

I have found in my experiments and tests of thisboat, that people unused to rowing or operating machinery, are able to work the propelling .mechanism efliciently, without training so that in the emergency of launching a boat, and getting it away, say, from a ship, by untrained passengers it can be done with certainty and ease; also that by the arrangement by which both the management or control of the operations of the machinery, and the sailing of the boat, is accomplished at the stern by the steersman, a further important advantage is obtained.

What is claimed is 1. In a boat havin hand operated propelling machinery, t e combination of a plurality of hand reciprocating levers, coupling rods at each side of the boat connectin said levers together, a transverse shaft driven by the said coupling rods in substantially the same horizontal plane as said rods, cranks on said shaft, connecting rods connecting said coupling rods with their cranks, a pawl notch wheel device adapted to be operated by hand and control the direction of rotation of the said shaft, a propeller shaft at right angles to the said transverse shaft and driven by the latter, air cases in each side of the boat, a continuous bar form supports for the hand operating Ie-- cases in each side of the boat to which'the lever supports are attached, and cases on the 15 inboard of the above cases within which the pivots and lower ends of the hand levers and coupling rods are enclosed, a pawl notch wheel device adapted to be operated by hand and control the direction of rotation of 20 the said shaft, and a propeller shaft at right angles to the said transverse shaft and driven by the latter. i i

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification. V

IVAN RUPERT FLEMING. 

